Photographing apparatus and photographing method for exposure control during continuous photographing mode

• US 7,852,401 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2007
• Issued: 12/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Hamamura, Toshihiro, Tanaka, Toshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho; Tuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): WANG, KENT F
• Application Number:
  US11/728,523
• Publication Number:
  US 20070229699A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,359 Days
• Field of Search: 34820799-376
• US Class Current: 348/362
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/741 by increasing the dynamic range of the image compared to the dynamic range of the electronic image sensors

Abstract

An apparatus and method that can maintain the number of photographed images obtained per second (frame rate) while ensuring sufficient exposure of a subject. The photographing apparatus and method can include an exposure portion for repeatedly performing an exposure at intervals of a predetermined unit exposure time, an image data storing portion temporarily storing unit image data generated by the exposure of the exposure portion, and an image combiner reading and combining a group of unit image data corresponding to a predetermined exposure time from the image data storing portion in synchronization with a photographing start timing of a continuous photographing period that is set in advance, to generate a combined image.

Claims

1. A photographing apparatus comprising:

an exposure portion for repeatedly performing an exposure at intervals of a predetermined unit exposure time;

an image data storing portion for temporarily storing unit image data generated by the exposure of the exposure portion; and

an image combiner for reading and combining a group of unit image data corresponding to a predetermined exposure time from the image data storing portion in synchronization with a photographing start timing of a continuous photographing period, to generate a combined image, wherein all unit image data exposure times of the group of unit image data are equal.

2. The photographing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a combination image number determiner for determining the number of image data that are to be combined.

3. The photographing apparatus of claim 2, wherein:

the combination image number determiner determines the number of image data to be combined based on at least one of an iris value of the photographing apparatus for the exposure, shutter speed of the photographing apparatus for the exposure, a number of photographed images per second, and a frame rate.

4. The photographing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a combination interval determiner for determining a timing of generating the combined image.

5. The photographing apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the continuous photographing period is set in advance of the image combiner performing the reading and combining operations.

6. The photographing apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the exposure portion performs the exposure, the image data storing portion performs the storing, and image combiner performs the reading and combining, in a continuous photographing mode of the photographing apparatus.

7. The photographing apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the exposure portion performs the exposure, the image data storing portion performs the storing, and image combiner performs the reading and combining, for a moving picture mode of the photographing apparatus.

8. The photographing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an automatic exposure (AE) level calculator for determining an exposure value for the exposure performed by the exposure portion.

9. The photographing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a compression processor for compressing the combined image into an appropriate format.

10. A photographing apparatus comprising:

an exposure portion for repeatedly performing an exposure at intervals of a predetermined unit exposure time;

an image data storing portion for temporarily storing unit image data generated by the exposure of the exposure portion;

an image combiner for reading and combining a group of unit image data corresponding to a predetermined exposure time from the image data storing portion in synchronization with a photographing start timing of a continuous photographing period, to generate a combined image; and

a display portion for displaying the combined image, and updating the displayed image at a predetermined interval,

wherein the image combiner adjusts the photographing start timing so that the timing of updating the displayed image on the display portion and the timing of terminating the image combination coincide with each other.

11. A photographing method comprising:

repeatedly performing an exposure for a predetermined unit exposure time;

storing temporarily and sequentially unit image data generated by the exposure; and

reading a group of the unit image data corresponding to the predetermined exposure time in synchronization with a photographing start timing of a continuous photographing period, and combining the group of unit image data to generate a combined image,

wherein all unit image data exposure times of the group of unit image data are equal, and

wherein the combining are repeatedly performed in a continuous photographing operation in synchronization with the photographing start timing of the continuous photographing period.

12. The photographing method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining the number of image data that are to be combined.

13. The photographing method of claim 12, wherein:

the determining step determines the number of image data to be combined based on at least one of an iris value of the photographing apparatus for the exposure, shutter speed of the photographing apparatus for the exposure, a number of photographed images per second, and a frame rate.

14. The photographing method of claim 11, further comprising:

setting a timing of generating the combined image.

15. The photographing method of claim 11, further comprising:

displaying the combined image and updating the displayed image at predetermined intervals, wherein in the combining the group of the unit image data, the photographing start timing is adjusted so that the timing of updating the displayed image and the timing of terminating the image combination can coincide with each other.

16. The photographing method of claim 11, wherein:

the continuous photographing period is set in advance of performing the reading and combining operations.

17. The photographing method of claim 11, wherein:

the exposure, storing, reading and combining operations are performed in a continuous photographing mode of a photographing apparatus.

18. The photographing method of claim 11, wherein:

the exposure, storing, reading and combining operations are performed in a moving picture mode of a photographing apparatus.

19. The photographing method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining an exposure value for the exposure.

20. The photographing method of claim 11, further comprising:

compressing the combined image into an appropriate format.